The present invention relates to a mobile information device capable of obtaining local color-rich user information that is closely associated with an area where it is located.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 9-103182, filed Apr. 21, 1997, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In recent years, in the field of cellular communication system, a simplified mobile communication system employing weak electromagnetic waves, for example, PHS (personal handyphone system), has been put to practical use.
The PHS is such that telephone terminals (PHS terminals) are used each of which is equipped with a communication unit that provides a low power output of the order of 10 mW, a base station is placed in each of subdivided areas measuring 100 to 400 meters in diameter and covered by the weak electromagnetic waves, and the base stations are controlled by a central base station equipped with an exchange unit.
The advantages of the PHS are that the telephone terminals can easily be made small, lightweight, and inexpensive because of the use of the low-output communication unit. In addition, the PHS has an advantage of being very suitable for data communications because of its data rate as high as 9,600 bps.
The simplified mobile communication system is the most distinct from the non-simplified mobile communication system in that each service area is very small and location registration processing of notifying the PHS center (control station) of the location of each terminal through a base station is performed frequently.
There are some prior art systems utilizing this feature, as described in Japanese Patent Publications (KOKAI) H5-175,899 and H9-322,229. According to these prior art systems, in order to inform the user of the current location of the terminal, the terminal has an address book in which addresses or addresses and area/local codes of the service areas are stored. If the terminal receives a base station ID (CS-ID) transmitted from a base station, the terminal displays the addresses or addresses and area/local codes of the corresponding service area in which the terminal is located.
These prior art units, however, merely display the location information. A mode of use of the simplified mobile communication system for making full use of its feature in which each service area is very small and location registration processing is performed frequently has not been conceived.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile information device which can obtain local information that is closely associated with a local area where it is located and perform a new function based on the obtained local information.
According to the present invention, there is provided a mobile information device comprising: a user memory; means for writing user information corresponding to an area into the user memory; means for receiving local information indicating an area in which the terminal locates; means for extracting user information corresponding to the area indicated by the received local information; and means for outputting the extracted user information.
According to the present invention, there is provided a computer program product for a mobile information device, the program stored in a computer readable medium and comprising the following steps of: receiving local information indicating an area in which the terminal locates; means for extracting user information corresponding to the area indicated by the received local information from the user memory for storing plural user information corresponding to areas; and outputting the extracted user information.
According to the information providing system of the present invention, the terminal is set in advance to send an information request signal at the time of responding to a location registration signal. Thus, the terminal can automatically issue a request to a base station for local information at the time of location registration to obtain the local information.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.
The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.